Poland Kingdom

[Kathleen Denson]

The West Slavic tribe of Polans who lived in what is today the historic region of Greater Poland, gave rise to a state in the early 10th century, which would become the nascent predecessor of the Kingdom of Poland. Following the Christianization of Poland in 966, and the emergence of the Duchy of Poland during the rule of Mieszko I, his eldest son Bolesław I the Brave inherited his father's dukedom and subsequently was crowned as king.[1]

In 1025, Bolesław I the Brave of the Piast dynasty was crowned as the first King of Poland at the cathedral in Gniezno and elevated the status of Poland from a duchy to a kingdom after receiving permission for his coronation from Pope John XIX.[2] Following the death of Bolesław, his son Mieszko II Lambert inherited the crown and a vast territory after his father, which included Greater Poland (with Mazovia), Lesser Poland, Silesia, Pomerania, Lusatia, Moravia, Red Ruthenia, and Upper Hungary. However, in 1031, he was forced to renounce the title and flee the country when a series of peasant uprisings broke out in what became known as the pagan reaction,[3] and Yaroslav I the Wise, the Grand Prince of Kiev, invaded the country from the east while Mieszko II was in Lusatia fighting the Holy Roman Emperor, Condrad II. Yaroslav I installed his ally, the half-brother of Mieszko II, Duke Bezprym, as the ruler of Poland. However, as a result of the upheavals, the kingdom suffered territorial losses and was effectively reduced to a duchy.

Casimir I the Restorer managed to reunite parts of the kingdom following the crisis and moved the capital to Krakw. However, he failed to reinstitute the monarchy due to opposition from the Holy Roman Emperor.[4] In 1076, Bolesław II the Bold, with the support of Pope Gregory VII, regained the royal crown but was later excommunicated and banished from the kingdom in 1079 for murdering his opponent, Bishop Stanislaus of Szczepanw. In 1079, Władysław I Herman, who never pursued kingship took over the reins after the expulsion of Bolesław II. Władysław I was disinterested in becoming king and the country was effectively run by wojewoda Sieciech.

In 1102, Bolesław III Wrymouth became the ruler of Poland.[5] Unlike Władysław I, Bolesław III proved to be a capable leader who restored the full territorial integrity of Poland but ultimately was not able to obtain the royal crown due to continued opposition from the Holy Roman Empire. Upon his death in 1138, the country was divided between his sons into the duchies of Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, Masovia, Silesia, Sandomierz, and a Pomeranian vassal. As a result, Poland entered a period of feudal fragmentation that lasted for over 200 years.

During the first half of the 13th century, the Silesian Piasts attempted to restore the kingdom. Henry the Bearded undertook efforts to reunite the fragmented duchies through a combination of political maneuvering and conquest. He also undertook efforts towards the coronation of his son, Henry II the Pious, and negotiated with other Polish dukes and the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, to this end. Henry II, continued his father's efforts, but the first Mongol invasion in 1241 and his death at the Battle of Legnica, abruptly ended the unification.[6] Generally, most Polish scholars agree that if not for the Mongol invasions of Poland, the kingdom would have been restored in the middle of the 13th century, under the Silesian Piast Dynasty.

The next attempt to restore the monarchy and unify the Polish kingdom would occur in 1296, when Przemysł II was crowned as the King of Poland in Gniezno. The coronation did not require papal consent as the title of king was already instituted in 1025. However, his reign was short-lived, as he was murdered by assassins sent by the margraviates of Brandenburg. After the killing of Przemysł II, next to take the title of king was Wenceslaus II of Bohemia from the Czech Přemyslid dynasty, who reigned until 1305.[7] Following a vacancy that lasted until 1320, the Kingdom of Poland was fully restored under Władysław I the Elbow-High, who was crowned at the Wawel cathedral in Krakw, and then subsequently strengthened by his son Casimir III the Great, who expanded into Red Ruthenia. However, he had to renounce his claims to Silesia in order to secure peace with the Holy Roman Empire. Casimir III is the only Polish king to receive the title "Great", and his reign was marked by substantial developments in the kingdom's urban infrastructure, civic administration, and military strength. After his death on 5 November 1370, the rule of the Piast dynasty would come to an end.

Following the death of Casimir III, who died without an heir, Louis I of Hungary from the House of Anjou became king in 1370. The period of his transitional rule also marked the rise of the nobility in the political life of the country. When Louis I died in 1382, his daughter Jadwiga took over the throne as King of Poland. Her advisors negotiated with Jogaila of Lithuania, concerning a potential marriage to Jadwiga. Jogaila pleaged to convert to Christianity and signed the Union of Krewo in 1385. The agreement also heralded a change in the legal status of the Polish realm to that of a Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which was a political concept that assumed unbroken unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. According to this concept, the Kingdom of Poland ceased to be the patrimonial property of a monarch or dynasty, and became a common good of the political community of the Polish kingdom. After the conclusion of the union, Queen Jadwiga married Grand Duke Jogaila, who was crowned as King Władysław II Jagiełło on 4 March 1386, an event that marked the beginning of the Jagiellon dynasty.[8]

Poland,[e] officially the Republic of Poland,[f] is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth-most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 million people, and the seventh-largest EU country, covering a combined area of 312,696 km2 (120,733 sq mi). It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordering seven countries.[g] The territory is characterised by a varied landscape, diverse ecosystems, and temperate transitional climate. The capital and largest city is Warsaw; other major cities include Krakw, Wrocław, Łdź, Poznań, and Gdańsk.

Poland is a unitary parliamentary republic, with its bicameral legislature comprising the Sejm and the Senate. The country is considered a middle power, with a developed market and high-income economy that is the sixth largest in the EU by nominal GDP and the fifth largest by GDP (PPP). Poland enjoys a very high standard of living, safety, and economic freedom, as well as free university education and universal health care. The country has 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 15 of which are cultural. Poland is a founding member state of the United Nations and a member of the World Trade Organization, OECD, NATO, and the European Union (including the Schengen Area).

The country's alternative archaic name is Lechia and its root syllable remains in official use in several languages, notably Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Persian.[19] The exonym possibly derives from either Lech, a legendary ruler of the Lechites, or from the Lendians, a West Slavic tribe that dwelt on the south-easternmost edge of Lesser Poland.[20][21] The origin of the tribe's name lies in the Old Polish word lęda (plain).[22] Initially, both names Lechia and Polonia were used interchangeably when referring to Poland by chroniclers during the Middle Ages.[23]

The first Stone Age archaic humans and Homo erectus species settled what was to become Poland approximately 500,000 years ago, though the ensuing hostile climate prevented early humans from founding more permanent encampments.[24] The arrival of Homo sapiens and anatomically modern humans coincided with the climatic discontinuity at the end of the Last Glacial Period (Northern Polish glaciation 10,000 BC), when Poland became habitable.[25] Neolithic excavations indicated broad-ranging development in that era; the earliest evidence of European cheesemaking (5500 BC) was discovered in Polish Kuyavia,[26] and the Bronocice pot is incised with the earliest known depiction of what may be a wheeled vehicle (3400 BC).[27]

Poland began to form into a recognisable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the 10th century under the Piast dynasty.[36] In 966, ruler of the Polans Mieszko I accepted Christianity under the auspices of the Roman Church with the Baptism of Poland.[37] In 968, a missionary bishopric was established in Poznań. An incipit titled Dagome iudex first defined Poland's geographical boundaries with its capital in Gniezno and affirmed that its monarchy was under the protection of the Apostolic See.[38] The country's early origins were described by Gallus Anonymus in Gesta principum Polonorum, the oldest Polish chronicle.[39] An important national event of the period was the martyrdom of Saint Adalbert, who was killed by Prussian pagans in 997 and whose remains were reputedly bought back for their weight in gold by Mieszko's successor, Bolesław I the Brave.[38]

The transition from paganism in Poland was not instantaneous and resulted in the pagan reaction of the 1030s.[44] In 1031, Mieszko II Lambert lost the title of king and fled amidst the violence.[45] The unrest led to the transfer of the capital to Krakw in 1038 by Casimir I the Restorer.[46] In 1076, Bolesław II re-instituted the office of king, but was banished in 1079 for murdering his opponent, Bishop Stanislaus.[47] In 1138, the country fragmented into five principalities when Bolesław III Wrymouth divided his lands among his sons.[20] These comprised Lesser Poland, Greater Poland, Silesia, Masovia and Sandomierz, with intermittent hold over Pomerania.[48] In 1226, Konrad I of Masovia invited the Teutonic Knights to aid in combating the Baltic Prussians; a decision that later led to centuries of warfare with the Knights.[49]